Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Mixologist Wants to Open Speakeasy in Harlem

By Gustavo Solis | October 2, 2015 5:29pm | Updated on October 4, 2015 8:24pm
 A mixologist and a designer want to open a speakeasy called Sugar Monk in Harlem. The two are currently raising $50,000 for the project.
A mixologist and a designer want to open a speakeasy called Sugar Monk in Harlem. The two are currently raising $50,000 for the project.
View Full Caption
Sugar Monk

WEST HARLEM — A renown mixologist who has been commissioned by the Guggenheim Museum and Absolut Vodka to create a signature cocktails wants to open a speakeasy in Harlem. 

Ektoras Binikos and designer Simon Jutras are currently raising $50,000 to open Sugar Monk next spring.

The name of the cocktail lounge is a tribute to jazz legend Thelonious Monk and the history of monks in distillation, said Binikos.

“I believe that mixology is alchemy, the mysterious process by which inspiration is transmuted into a liquid creation,” he said.

Binikos, who lives in Harlem, most recently worked at the 2nd Floor on Clinton, a popular speakeasy in the Lower East Side where drinks featured cachaca and beet juice and were garnished with mushrooms and poppy seeds.

He has been wanting to open a bar in Harlem since a rent increase forced him our of the Lower East Side, he said.

He and Jutras have been working on Sugar Monk for a year and a half. They chose Harlem because of its vibrant and growing dinning scene.  

“Today, Harlem is going through a big change, probably the biggest change since the Harlem Renaissance,” said Jutras.

Sugar Monk will be a “forward-thinking,” and “sophisticated,” destination for both locals and cocktail aficionados from around the world, he said.

Food will include tapas-style appetizers and small Caribbean and African plates. The stars of the show will be the cocktails, which will be made from the freshest ingredients, finest spirits and artisanal bitters, Binikos said.

“I want to consider the history and reference African-American history going back to the Harlem Renaissance, the West Indies, the Caribbean, and Africa,” he said.

The two are currently negotiating on a lease on Eight Avenue. They plan to leave the facade as is and make it into a secret place that people have to know about in order to walk in. Inside the speakeasy will have about 20 tables with a small stage for live performances.

As of Friday evening, the two had raised $16,000 through an Indiegogo campaign. They want $50,000 to help pay for legal fees, the liquor license, construction fees and the lease acquisition.